In Memory of Timothy Barranco

Friday, June 23, 2006

A Prophetic e-mail

When Andy got into Tim's e-mail account, he found this e-mail that Tim had never opened. It had been sent around 1 AM on the day he died, May 11, 2006. The sender was trying to encourage him as he faced the first of the 3 exams he had before graduating. He did very well on his ethics exam that he took from 2 -5 that day and got an A. Went by the Y to drop off his swimmers' report cards and talked till 5:45 and seemed like the same Tim. He left the Y and was dead by 6:01 from jumping, falling? in front of a Septa (sp?) train. I wonder if he left the Y and turned his attention to the remaining exams and realized there was no way he would pass the Salvation 2 exam with the struggle he was having in his brain to focus. If he didn't pass, he wouldn't graduate. In his depressed state he couldn't face the shame of that and in an instant in time Satan tempted him and won the battle that had been raging off and on for two years. Tim had never gotten less than a B in any college or seminary class. A couple of us had thought he might be bi polar and had said something to him about dealing the bi polar possibility as soon as exams were over. I'll share what I've learned about bi polar in the next week.I just wanted to share these last few paragraphs that we see as prophetic and have been a comfort to us.

"I'll be praying for you... praying for rest tonight and focus tomorrow, for peace and a sense of His nearness during the exam, and hope that regardless of the outcome, you can praise God with the results.

I'll also be praying that in a little while, when God looks on Thursday, May 11th, 2006 of your life, that He smiles, puts a hand on your shoulder, and says, "Well done! My good and faithful servant!"